Table Tennis

September 17, 1988

COMPETITION: Men`s and women`s singles and doubles.

-- EQUIPMENT: Players use a wooden paddle (also called a racket or bat), red on one side and black on the other. Ball is made of celluloid and is 1.4 to 1.5 inches in diameter and weighs less than a tenth of an ounce. Table is 9 feet long, 5 feet wide and 30 inches high, divided by a white net 6 feet long and 6 inches high.

-- KEY RULES: First player to 21 points (with at least a two-point lead) wins a game. Player must win three games to win a match. Players alternate service games and change ends after odd games. Play must be continuous, except for a five-minute break after the third game. Players are allowed to inspect their opponents` paddles before the match. In doubles play the partners on each side must alternate returning the ball. The tournament has a direct elimination format.

-- STRATEGY: Look for a clash of styles when a fast attacker plays a ``looper`` (uses looping shots, heavy with topspin, to set up kills). Always, the idea is to put the opponent on the defensive by dictating the pace.

-- U.S. REPRESENTATIVES: Men: Sean O`Neil, McLean, Va.

Women: Insook Bhushan, Aurora, Colo.; Diana Gee, Burlingame, Calif.

-- OTHERS TO WATCH: The Chinese should dominate -- six of the top 10 men`s and women`s players in the world come from that country, including top-ranked Olympic favorites Jiang Jialing and He Zhili. The Swedes, Poles, North and South Koreans, and Hungarians will challenge China`s superiority.